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Hyssop Use in the Bible
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Ritual Uses of Hyssop

When the prophet Nathan came to David after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, David sang: "Have mercy on me, God, . . . Cleanse me with hyssop, and I'll be clean; wash me, and I'll be whiter than snow." [Psalm 51, excerpt]
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Hyssop
Ritual uses of herbs occur [Exodus 12: 21-24]. The Bible tells Yahweh himself instituted ritual uses of hyssop through Moses. Such old uses were in part to form non-dispensable, integral parts of lasting ordinances which are largely defunct today anyway. [Leviticus 14: 1-4, 33-49; Numbers 19:1-10]


Hyssop according to Maude Grieve

Mrs Grieve's book A Modern Herbal was first published in 1931, and contains folklore of herbs among other things. It is on-line. Below are excerpts:
      Tradition identifies the Hyssop of Scripture with the familiar herb, Marjoram (origanum). Dr. J. F. Royle disagrees, and identifies the Hyssop of the Bible with the Caper-plant (Capparis spinosa). This view is supported by Canon Tristram and others. The Arabs call it azaf.
      And the best-known species of hyssop today is the herb Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis). Its healing virtues of hyssop are due to a particular volatile oil, which is stimulative, carminative and sudorific.
      The leaves, stems and flowers of H. officinalis possess a highly aromatic odour and yield by distillation an essential oil of exceedingly fine odour, much appreciated by perfumers, its value being even greater than Oil of Lavender, says Grieve.

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Literature  
      Huvs: Marcussen, Marcus: Helbredende urter: Deres virkning, sammensetning og anvendelse. Bye og Børresen. Oslo, 1950:35.
       Tih: Hoffmann, David: The Complete Illustrated Herbal: A Safe and Practial Guide to Making and Using Herbal Remedies. Mustard/Parragon. Bath, 1999:104.

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